In the Works...

Glue Gone

Hostess of smART Cookie Tea Party #14, Donna Duquette, started off by asking the team, "What if you ran out of glue?  Could you still make a card?"

Her questions were followed up with this party's challenge:

Make a card with no adhesive.  That's right...no glue, no tape, no paste.

Now I'm a layering kinda gal, who practically wears her ATG tape gun in a holster on the hip.  I'm also terribly fond of tacky glue, permanent gluestick, and glue dots.  I immediately started to panic...

Then I remembered brads... eyelets... stitching...etc.  Lots of possibilities... Whew!  The panic subsided.

Of course, the only problem with all the possibilities I could think of, was how unappealing the backsides look on the inside of the card... It's a personal preference thing, but I've tried to leave the backs of the like exposed, and I just can't do it -- I ALWAYS adhere an insert over what I consider "the yuk."

Wanting to stick to the rules ~ha ha, and unable to overcome my "yuk" aversion, I opted to bypass the entire dilemma by making a simple one-layer card:

With Mother's Day right around the corner, and my stamping playtime extremely limited this week, I also decided to accomplish two things at once -- meet the challenge while making a card for my mom.

First, I chose images from ABC-Have a Heart, ABC-TT #6, and MD-03 Basket.

Next, I chose the cardstock... Since most single layer cards are white, I decided to try something different, and selected a light yellow. 

Why light yellow?   Because I wanted a color which would compliment the other colors I planned to add, and figured even if the yellow base altered the applied colors, the outcome would still be palatable -- pink might be more coral, blue more aqua, etc. I'd never done it before, but I was pretty sure it would work...

I cut the cardstock lengthwise, made a top-folded card, and rounded the bottom two corners.

The images were then stamped in Versafine black and clear embossed with Transcendence powder.

For adding color, I started with pastel shades of pink, green, and blue markers, then using a waterbrush, gradually added darker shades of the same colors, and touches of Twinkling H2Os. (Confidentially, I choose the wrong color pink in the Twinks, which made the heart flowers too dark... This overpowered the blue of the bow, so I had to add a darker shade to that... I liked things better, lighter, but when one can't leave well enough alone, that's what happens.  Besides, with my mom's very limited vision, the darker colors are probably better for her.)

The final steps were wrapping a length of 5/8" black, satin ribbon around the folded edge of card, and knotting it in front, and applying two layers of dimensional glaze to the heart flowers.

Challenge met.  Mother's Day card complete. 

Wonder what Donna, Dina, Trish, and Heidi did with their glue gone?  You can check them out with me, then try the challenge yourself.  It's actually sort of fun.

Thanks for stopping by,

Susan T.

P.S.  In case you're wondering, my theory about coloring over the yellow base proved correct... When I added the pastel shades of marker, there were slight changes in the applied colors, but as soon as the darker shades were added, it didn't seem to make much difference... the darker colors prevailed.

Square Guest At A Round Party

Hostess of the 13th smART Cookie tea party, Dina Kowal, invited her guests to partake of this challenge:

Make a round card... not just something round on the card, but a card that IS round.

This was something I'd never done before, but Dina also explained how to make the base:

Fold your cardstock, then hang some type of circle template a bit over the folded edge, and trace/cut around the part of the template that remains on the paper. 

What you get is almost a complete circle with a "hinge." 

Note: This card uses a full sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock, and requires a square envelope for mailing.

For me, the first time through was a bit tricky because it was difficult to tell just how much of the fold to leave intact -- too little, makes the hinge flimsy, and the card unstable... too much makes the hinge obvious, and the circular effect of the card is lost. 

For a 5-3/8" circle, I used my Creative Memories circle cutter, medium template - outer track - blue blade.  I found if I left a hinge about 1-5/8" long, both the stability, and appearance of the card were near perfect. 

There, I had the base!  The hard part, which took me two tries, was over... Or was it???

Once I had the round canvas, working on it was truly out of my comfort zone... I discovered very quickly that I'm definitely a square/rectangle gal.  Had to keep telling myself, "But that's what a c-h-a-l-l-e-n-g-e is all about..." 

Every time I thought I knew where I wanted to take things, they just didn't look right, didn't fit right, or had no balance.  I had to stop, walk away, and mull things over several times... I finally had to sleep on it.  The next day, however, everything came together.  Here is the result:

First I opted to position the hinge on the card's left side.  Next I chose, and cut a strip of print paper the width of the hinge.  Starting at the hinge, I adhered the strip across the card, and rounded the overhang flush with the opposite edge.

This Anna Griffith print, a leftover from a previous project, then helped me choose two more things:  My main image taken from WD-210 Flower Girl, and my color palette.  In retrospect, I'm wondering if the overall design actually needs the strip at all, but if I hadn't used it, I wouldn't have had a launching point...

To soften the appearance, Flower Girl was stamped in Versafine Smokey Grey.  It was then embossed with Transcendence, and colored using markers, colored pencils, chalk, and ink from a pad (applied with a small brush).

Note:  Although I've gotten better with practice, coloring is not my strong suit, so rather than use a single, unmastered medium, I tend to tie colors together by pulling from everything I own...

Next came the saying from WD-134 Time & Again, also stamped in Smokey Grey and clear embossed... I started off leaving all the corners square, but the look on the round card was too angular... Next I rounded all the corners, and somehow that wasn't right either -- made the corners of Flower Girl stand out as too angular... Finally I re-stamped/embossed, and rounded only two, opposing corners. Ahhhh... the inked edges in these shapes, tied together both the square corners of the Flower Girl panel, and the round edge of the card!
 
Each stamped piece was then layered to iridescent purple, and grey cardstocks, and the two panels were mounted to the card.

Time for some embellishments!  Instead of punching flowers, this time I used "Brides" flowers from Michael's -- actually shimmery, embossed, table confetti made by Gartner Studios for Brides magazine, and sold at Michael's in the handcraft-a-wedding aisle.

Brides flowers come uncolored, in white or ivory, so I colorized these using Brilliance and Fluid Chalk inks -- first I smushed each flower face down into the Brilliance Pearlescent Purple ink pad, and heat set.  After that, I applied Fluid Chalk Lavender to the outer petal edges using a small brush, and heat set again.

The colored flowers were then layered with fern punches (Punch Bunch), mini flower punches (PBM2), and tiny circle punches, and adhered to the card.

The hinge area was still lacking "something," so the spots on a length of purple, Swiss dot ribbon were customized using a permanent, celadon marker, and when dry, was knotted, trimmed, and adhered to the card along the void.

I'll admit I learned a lot from working through this challenge, but I must also say I'm still too internally "square" to be a round card convert (translated: you won't be seeing many more of these babies).

Given my experience, I'm extremely curious to see what Dina, Donna, and Trish did "in the round," and how each one of them felt about it... 

Susan L. and Heidi are not playing today.

Susan T.

Cookies & Tea Without Me

Today is tea party day, but I am still playing catch-up from the sick days I took last week, and with what seems like a mountain of work still looming (and zero energy to attack it), I have opted to pass on the party.

Today's hostess, however, is Trish D'Antonio from Tah Dah! and her challenge arrived in the form of this "inspirational" piece:   

Her instructions were clear and simple, "Take a look at this artwork, and see what speaks to you -- then use whatever that voice says, and create something of your own."

What fun!  Glad I'll get to live vicariously through the Cookies... Can't wait to see what they've done.  If you want to find out too, click on their names in the sidebar.

Floral Tea

The challenge for today's smART Cookie Tea Party, comes by way of hostess, Heidi Kingery, of Sweet Somethings:

"Use flower rubber by smARTworks."

Since this is already one of my favorite things to do, it didn't really feel all that challenging to me, sooooo I went ahead and tacked on additional criteria "just for me" -- No black... ANYWHERE!

Now, some of you might not see this as much of a challenge either, but for me, this is, and forever will be painful... very painful... very, very painful... I LIKE the look of black ink, especially for sentiments... Almost can't bring myself to use anything else... So now I'd set myself up for some serious growth...  Here's the result:

My initial inspiration for this creation came from a card I saw awhile back on one of the die cutting websites... Their card had used real gingham ribbon for flower stems with die cut hearts as flowers. There weren't any leaves on their flower stems, and I can't remember if words were incorporated or not...but what had stuck in my mind were those ribbon stems... and the thought, "I think I can do that with rubber."

A secondary wave of inspiration came from one of the sample cards smART Cookie, Susan Liles, recently submitted... A color scheme of green - pink- white, which really impressed me... so fresh, so uplifting, so S-P-R-I-N-G!  I haven't been able to get it out of my mind.   

Okay, now for the nitty-gritty --

Please Note: Most stamping on this card was aided by use of the Stamp-a-ma-jig positioner.

Using Memories coral ink, I stamped and clear embossed the smaller bloom from Blossoms Lg. twice on a white panel with rounded corners.  Then I simultaneously cut two masks -- done by stamping an image once on a stack of post-its, and cutting several layers together -- and covered the flowers. 

Using Memories apple ink, and the gingham ribbon stamp from ACCENTS #7, I added the stems.  Since unmounted rubber is so flexible, I was able to arch the "ribbon" when mounting it to the acrylic, and thus, could achieve the curved image.

The masks were removed and the blossoms were colored in with marker.  In real life the color is more coral than true pink, but for whatever reason the scanner refused to differentiate...

Next came the sentiment from WD-106 LB Thoughts stamped in coral, the layered punches (PBMD2 and PBS2), and the sparkly green rhinestones (picked up years ago from some bargain bin -- a bazillion for less than a dollar).

The leaves along the flower stems were really an afterthought.  One of those, "Hmmmm... I wonder if..." ideas --
 
I stamped the ribbon image on white scrap and cut it out.  Then I stamped the reverse side.  To be more specific - I laid the stamp face up on my work table, inked it up, then guided the white side of the cut-out down onto the stamp... Worked like a charm!  Much, much easier than I initially anticipated!

Once the "ribbon" was dry, I cut it into three sections, and folded each section in half (a creased loop).  Each loop was then sized individually, with its loose ends were glued closed, then cut at approx. 45' angles. This created a miter effect where the leaves join the stem.

Finally, using just a tiny bit of tacky glue, the leaves were adhered to the card.

So there you have it -- my smART flowers, no black, tea card.  Wonder what floral wonders the other tea gals created???  To find out, let's take a peek at: 
Mama Dini's Stamperia
Dee's Studio
Tah Dah!
SusieStampALot

"Anything but..." Tea Party

This week's tea party hostess, Susan Liles, of Susiestampalot's blogspot, threw out this challenge:

Stamp anything except a card.

Wow! ANYthing???

I was tempted to stamp a "tattoo" on Mr. Eli, take a picture, and say, "There!"  But whenever I go to the flippant side of life, even a little bit, it always comes back to haunt me... Besides, Mr. Eli has enough "cleverly cool" ideas on his own.

In the hopes of taking a more serious approach, I put on my thinking cap and got to work -- A domino necklace?  Naw, expected.  A laminated bookmark?  Nope, too much like a card.  A tin?  Good idea, but with all the irons in my fire, a little too messy.  Hmmmm....

Then over the weekend, I was quickie shopping through the local Dollar Tree when I spied a cute, little, hard covered, spiral-bound notebook.

Now, I happen to be a notebook freak, so I just had to stop, and take a better look... Hey not bad!  "Square" is different, and I actually LIKE the basic cover and the inside paper (rare for me to like both)... and don't I already have some brown/blue spotted ribbon???  Oh, yeah baby, this was it! 

The only things I didn't like about it were the bon bon box motif (I think that's what you call it) in the front cover's lower, right corner, and the nasty bar code imprinted on the back cover... Yuck!

THAT's where the stamping, and a little paper magic came into play...

I chose one of the pooches from the ABC-Dog Daze set because I already had him cut out, and I chose the "happy memory" saying from WD-39 Friends Listen because I wanted a one-liner which could fit on the notebook's pink strip.

The pooch got colored and embellished (embroidery thread bow and teeny heart i.d. tag from a Fiskars hand punch), and the saying got stamped and embossed directly onto the notebook's cover.  Due to a slight warping, it was difficult to stamp with even pressure, but since I bought only the one notebook, a single try was all I had... Good enough!

Next came that brown/blue spotted ribbon, applied with permanent double-stick tape, the layered scalloped circle punches (by Punch Bunch), and the punched flowers (PBMD2, PBS2, and PBS5).  I couldn't decide exactly how I wanted to order the three colors, so I actually punched one of each size from each color, and played mix it - match it... Yes, friends, sometimes I annoy myself!

I wanted the notebook to remain very functional, so I opted not to add too much bulk with brads or to tie ribbon along the spiral binding.

For the back, I covered that hideous, bar code imprint with a small library pocket, and fitted the pocket with a double-sided tag.  I figure if given as a gift, this would make a nice place to write a special message.  It would also make a good place to index the contents of the notebook, or record a few dates, etc. 

As you can see, the tag was embellished with some more spotted ribbon, and the pocket with one more punched flower.  Again, I tried to keep things as flat as possible.

In addition to Susan L., smART Cookies attending the "Anything but..." tea party are:  Donna, Dina, and Heidi.  I have no idea what each of them decided to stamp, but it certainly will be fun to take a look...

Please Note:  Trish's father-in-law passed away unexpectedly Monday night, so please be in prayer for her and hers while they are faced with this time of sadness.

Daffy Hostess

Okay, before partaking of this week's tea and Cookies, some advice... something like, "Never argue with a Sicilian when death is on the line..."

When hostessing a color challenge tea, never call out the color combo before checking to see if you have those colors in your own paper/ink/accessory stash.

Guess I don't have to tell you how this advice became relevant... ~ I be sooooo daffy!

It's just that I am so enamored with this recent print paper acquisition -- a Stacy Claire Boyd design by EK Success, that I never thought about anything else.  The colors:  Chocolate/Brown, Lime/Chartreuse, and Aqua/Teal... Absolutely LOVE them together!

Obsessed with matching the color shades in the paper, and only eeking out minimal success ~hee hee, here's what I did:

The strip of striped print is actually the reverse side of the above design.  I started with that, then decided I really wanted to incorporate the Bible verse BV-36 Proverbs 16:3... I'm in the midst of making decisions (and sadly, cuts) for a future new  release of rubber, and I really, really, really need the Lord to establish my thoughts... Also, hubby and I have recently (as in just last night), been confronted with a difficult "kid" issue/decision involving one of our adult children, so claiming this particular promise is particularly pertinent.

But back to the card... I actually had to marker in some additional "aqua" colored lines onto the striped paper, otherwise I could never have matched my colors. 

Next came the punch embellishment, scavenged from my bits 'n pieces bin.  I had custom-colored the large flower with one of the Fluid Chalk inks many moons ago (added the large polka dots with a jumbo, kiddie, pencil eraser), and the de-pronged, chartreuse flower brad had been removed from a previous great idea gone bad...  I added one of my new, favorite punches (PBM2) from matching brown cardstock, and topped it off with an "icee," Heidi Swapp small, flower jewel from my "like it too much to use it" stash.

The leaf punch is part of an older Sizzix die (Leaf, Stem #38-0227).  I did a little "nip 'n tuck" of one of the leaves, and voila!

Additional, honorable mentions -- Ink used for the verse, and around the edges of the verse's layer - Versafine, Vintage Sepia... Distressing tool used on edges of the chartreuse panel.

All in all, I'm  quite pleased with the final results.  Even though there may not be a tremendous amount of nitty-gritty stamping involved, I met my color challenge, and made the stamped verse my focal point... exactly what I set out to do.  Guess that means, "OK Success!" ~hee hee hee

Only four of the Cookies are planning to attend today's party:  Dina, Donna, Heidi, and Trish.  Susan sends her apologies, but she's having too much fun with her cable guy... getting a network and going digital.

Valentine Tea

Today's tea party challenge, Make a Valentine, comes by way of smART Cookie hostess, Donna Duquette, and with tomorrow being Valentine's Day, it certainly makes a lot of sense... It was also a lot of fun!

I designed a handful of "heart cards" this year, but decided to share the following three because they're variations on a single theme -- All three use the same basic techniques (stamping, coloring, 3-D cut-outs, basic layering, and dimensional glaze on the noses), all three use stamps from these two sets:

Heart Duos #2 & ABC-With Heart, and the color scheme for each  is traditional - either red, pink, or a combination of the two...

Card #1 (taught in my recent "Have a Heart" card class at Stamp 'n Scrap)

Ink: Memories Ruby
Saying: WD-108 I love you (LOTS!)
Coloring: Markers & Radiant Pearls
Other: 3/8" Sheer Ribbon and Itty Bitty Rhinestone (red - on heart)

Card #2 (made secretly for Mr. Eli)

Ink: Memories Cherry
Saying: WD-114 My Heart
Coloring: Markers
Other: Heart Punches and Ultrafine Glitter

Card #3 (mailed out to several card pals)

Ink:  Brilliance Pearlescent Coral
Saying:  BV-17 I Corinthians 13:13
Coloring:  Markers & Twinkling H2Os
Other: Itty Bitty Rhinestone (pink - on heart)

All the Cookies "pinky-swear" they are participating this time, so to take a look at their Valentines, click on the links located under smART Cookie Design Team. (see sidebar)

Happy Hearts Day everyone!

Oops!

Oh, my!  Today I sort of got lost compiling "new" material, and completely forgot about the tea party!  Remembered just as I started cooking supper... Then there was homework, exercise, showers, devotions, and bedtime for Eli...

Anyway, Dina, our hostess for the week, sent out this challenge:  Make a matchbook card -- any size... any style... any closure...

Thankfully, I just happen to have something from the archives, not a card exactly, but a matchbook style, mini Post-it note holder.  It was one of the projects presented in my "Just A Little Something" class at Stamp 'n Scrap way back in November...

The front flap of this one, is decorated with Message Mouse (stamped on white scrap, colored, & cut out), one of the sayings from Mini Messages #2, and a few layered flower punches.  The flower centers are accented diamond glitter glue.

Here are the basic instructions for making one of these little gems:

Cut heavy cardstock to size -- 2-1/2”W x 5-1/2”L.
Score as shown at 1/2”, 3”, and  3-3/16”.
Fold along score lines.
“Staple” center of short flap to back panel. (Note: A mini brad or eyelet also works)
Depending on the thickness of the stack, adhere one third to one half of a stack of mini sticky notes to the back panel. (Post-it note size: 1-1/2" x 2")
Secure bottom edge of long flap under top edge of short flap.
Decorate front flap as desired.

Believe me, this is a great quickie project -- fun to make, super as a "little something" for giving, and always happily received... Yup, one of those projects that just says, "More!"

Now it's time to see what the hostess and her other guests (the Cookies) have put together:
Dina at Mama Dini's Stamperia
Donna at Dee's Studio
Trish D'Antonio at Tah Dah!
Susan Liles at Susie Stampalot, and
Heidi at Sweet Somethings

With Sprinkles, or Without?

It's tea party time once again, with smART Cookie, Trish D'Antonio, acting as our hostess. 

Trish served up this sketch:
...and added "sprinkles" (bonus points for including some type of 3-D embellishment).

Per usual, I did a lot of anticipating and salivating before sinking my teeth into the first bite... Then using little more than powder blue & black cardstocks, black ink, stamp set WD-198 Small Things, and a decorative leaf punch, I came up with this piece:

It wasn't until wiping my mouth with my napkin, and feeling very satisfied, that I decided to look in my computer layout file again...

Oh, no!  The background and focal panels were supposed to be "different."  I had worked from a printed version which, for whatever reason, had eliminated the color variations.  Shh!  Don't tell Trish, but I actually LIKE my mistake. 

As for a 3-D embellishment, hmmmm, I don't think the leaf punches I used really count, so no sprinkles for me... But no matter, I think this one is just as tasty without them...

To find out what Trish and the other Cookies did at the party, visit their blogs: Tah Dah!, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio, Susie Stampalot, and Sweet Somethings.

You could also take a little taste of Trish's sketch yourself, then send me a link.  I promise, with or without the sprinkles, it will be mmm...mm good, and lots of fun! 

Pour the Tea!

The first smART Cookie Tea Party of 2008 is being hosted by Heidi Kingery.  This is her sketch:

Of the three or four ideas I had bopping around in the ol' noggin, this is the one I decided to tackle:

Halfway through, I figured out all the things I would like to change (the color scheme and print paper for starters), but by then there was no turning back. ~sigh  What is it they say?  Hindsight is always 20/20?  Guess that applies to stamping as much as anything else...

Anywho, the one thing I really like about this piece is the frosting on the cupcake.  I used the Stickles, glitter glue called, Frosted Lace ,which up until now I've considered a boo-boo purchase -- kept on the shelf because it's new, but never used because it disappointed me by not being very sparkly...  Then today, lo and behold, it turned out to be just perfect for frosting!  Yeah!  I always love it when I find uses for my boo-boo buys!

Other Cardworks:
Stamps: WD-42 Cupcake, WD-203 Sing
Versafine Ink - Onyx Black
Markers & Colored Pencils
Circle Punches - 1-1/2" & 1-3/4"
Foam Tape

I can't wait to see what the Cookies did with this, so I'm off to visit Sweet Somethings, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Tah Dah! , Dee's Studio, and Susie Stampalot.  Why don't you come along and join me?